Metadata can be used to provide descriptive information about digital objects. Metadata is usually added to digital objects by devices and applications that actually generate the metadata. Subsequently, the metadata can be overwritten, deleted or modified by other devices and applications that receive the digital objects.
Different metadata formats are available for different types of digital media content. For instance, ID3 is a tagging format for MP3s. This tagging format allows metadata such as title, artist, album, and track number to be added to MP3 files.
The Exchangeable Image File (EXIF) format is an international specification for encoding metadata into the headers and application segments of JPEG files. This metadata includes shutter speed, aperture, and the date and time of image capture.
JPSearch is a new standardization activity occurring within the JPEG 2000 community. The JPSearch standard “aims to specify additional metadata and related functionalities to support the implementation of a flexible and efficient still image search.”